Chapter 3

It's been about three weeks since I began to reside with Uncle Joshua and Aunt Nkem, and it wasn't actually as bad as i had felt it would be, maybe i was wrong. As promised, Helen visited as often as she could, especially on weekends, she would help in the regular house chores and help baby-sit Chika. My bad gut feeling had slowly began to dissipate, but there was still some residues, like i was not yet so sure about things, however reality seemed to prove me wrong.

As i sat on the single-seater king-size cushion in the living room watching the famous " Tears of the Sun",A Biafran Secession Story, a loud knock came on the door. I dropped the decoder remote on the trensparent tempered glass center door and walked through the corridor towards the entrance door. As i approached, the knock came again, but this one louder than the last.

"Who is there?" I asked

"it is me" answered a familiar voice. It sounded like Helen's voice. I gave a silent chortle and unbolted the metal door coated with thick black oil spray paint.

"Hey how far?" Helen greeted.

"I'm good, you?"

I'm ok, how's chika and Aunt Nkem?"

"He's fine' i replied as i bolted the door and we walked into the living room. One thing Helen never seemed to get enough of was staring at how magnificient Uncle Joshua's living room appeared to be. She first of all fixed her gaze on the picture of the sacred heart of Jesus and that of our Lady of Perpetual Help, to the left he stared at aunt Nkem in her NYSC uniform, and the picture of uncle joshua smiling freely through his teeth. To the right was an art work of an african man wielding a sharp-appearing machete and a mother with her baby strongly tied to her back, she held a basket under her arms as though she was returning from the market, from the way she stood in the picture, it was visible that she was walking in elegant and enchanting strides; they seemed like a happy family, on the path they walked, they faced the hills carefully and gracefully beautified by the ricer meandering it's way down the hill. The curtain was sea blue in colour and it's edges were decorated with macrame tassles. At the center of the room hung a sky blue coloured chandelier, on the edge of the parlor hung a 64 inch Hisense plasma Television. The dining table surrounded with six customized wooden chairs was decorated with stuffed fruits. It was a sight to behold.

"Wow". Helen uttered in dismay.

"Chika is sleeping and i know you would not want to wake him up unless you are equal to the task". I spoke not shifting my curious gaze from the television.

"I noticed that aunt nkem must have driven out in her car' helen poked

"yes, I responded absent-mindedly; she went to drop her husband at the park'

"he's going on another business trip?'. Helen queried as she fixed her round eyes on me npt seeming a bit interested in the movie.

"Yeah, but this time he's going to Lagos and might be away for a month or more". I replied.

"So it's just you and aunt Nkem with kittle Chika?"

"Yes". Just then, a temporary power outage occured.

"Ohhhh, NEPA, ndi a abiakwa, they have come again". I lamented.

"you're complaining as if it's a new thing, nnekwa onye nke a, see this one". Helen rhetorically voiced.

"I've looked forward to watching that movie, and now its finslly here, ndi NEPA ewere oku, the power holding company has come again". I continued to complain.

"Complainant Steph., sorry, their is nothing i can do to help your cause". Helen teased.

I stood up and streched my self nearly to breaking point having fully accepted the fact that there was nothing I could do. I looked at the wall clock hunng above the64''inch television. It thicked fifteen minuts past two.

"Thank God its almost time for lunch"' i said as looked at Helen and asked.

"Are you hungry?" She frowned and feigned ignorance.

"I na-aju m biko? Did you just ask me that questiuon? I skipped lunch at home to be here, and you are here asking silly questions"

"Does rthat mean you are hungry?" i probed further, playing dumb.

"You are still asking me questions? Yes i am, and besides, when am i not hungry?" Helen rwplied

"Yeah right, when are you never not hungry? Like never, onye nni, foodie"

"Thank goodness you kjnow that". Helen playeda long with a shameless laughter rattling through her bucal cavity.

"Okay, let me prepare for lunch". I said as i walked out of the living room and into the kitchen.

"What are you having for lunch?" helen queried as she followed closely behind me.

"You ask as if you are a visitor here".

"Garri and Egusi soup?" Helen guessed. I nodded affirmatively as i added a sizeable quauntity of water uinto the kettle and placed it on trhe gas cylinder to boil.

"Get the soup from the frigde" i instructed helen. She opened the freezer and inspected the transparent take away playes for the egusi soup and pulled it out. Luckily, it was not frozen'

We hurriedly prepared the meal and set it on the dining table and with the prayer before meal, we made round smooth balls out of the hot garri and sent it on an excursion to the soup plate before it went on a "Journey of No Return" to our mouths. Half way into the meal, i spoke up.

"Helen"

"yes" she answered as she looked up from her meal

"There issomething I urgently need to tell you"

Helen stopped eating and gave me a go-ahead look. I took a deep breath in and out and then started.

"I'm really sorry for concluding wrongly about aunt Nkemjika, she's totally one nice easy-to-get-along kind of person... Helen stopped me hgalf way.

"It's opkay, sometimes, things can be t5hat way, that nervous feeling of uncertainty..."

"I just should not have conluded so quickly...she interrupted yet agsin.

"Steph., reallyt? Is that somerhing to worry about right now? And be...

"Please stop interrupting me" i shrieked. I was getting emotional. She nodded positively.

"My judgements were wrong and aunt Nkem is a good person and I've really enjoyed staying with her so far, so... i paused,m the last words were heavy, but i successfully pulled them out.

"...you can stop coming if it's trouble for you visiting"

I looked down at my plate as i could feel her piercing gaze on me. She seemed more pained than surprised. Surprisingly, she did not argue.

"Okayy". She surprising agreed with an argument, it was quite the unusual.The reswt of the meal was had in silenbce as it seemed that none of us had anyother thing to say. In the future, I still had a question mark to the decision I took that day… I still wondered deep within me if I was right or wrong.

****************************

"Wow mum, i guess Robin was right, the story really ended happily but in a damp mood" Maria said

"It's not yet over, there is still more to it, right mum?" Robin said

"Yes my child" I replied.

"Really mum?"

I nodded

"Hold on let me get some drinks for us from the frigde, this story deserves some of that". Maria suggested as she disappeared towards the kitchen and returned with three coca-cola bottles and an opener in a ceramic tray. She set it before us, and focused her eyes on my mouth as if waiting for gold or silver to fall out from it. I kept mute for about a minute while taking silent and deserving sips of my drink, I wanted to stretch their curiosity and make proper use of suspense.

"This is the part when my nightmare became a reality…

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